Graham Alexander delight as Bradford make ‘pretty perfect’ start to beat MK Dons

Bradford boss Graham Alexander hailed a “pretty perfect” start to his side’s League Two campaign after seeing them score twice in the opening five minutes en route to beating MK Dons 2-1.

Alex Pattison’s 25-yard thunderbolt and a Sam Sherring own goal saw the Bantams take early control at Stadium MK and although Alex Gilbey pulled a goal back in the 20th minute, the Dons could not find an equaliser despite creating a number of chances.

That allowed Alexander to taste opening-day success against his former employers, and he reflected that his Bradford side still had potential to grow as the season unfolds.

He said: “First five minutes were pretty perfect! It was a great start from us. We want to put teams under pressure and show our quality, which we did, not just in the first five minutes but after that.

“But I think at a stage in the first half, we took a step backwards. I thought MK would take advantage as they have got good players and can open you up and they challenged us, but the players stood up to it as best they could.

“Three points is really valuable, certainly at the start of this team coming together and evolving into potentially a successful team. It’s good to really energise that feeling with three points and a good victory.

“We’ve played better in pre-season and will play better as the season progresses, but the game’s about winning and the boys have worked their nuts off to get those points. Every credit to them.”

MK Dons head coach Mike Williamson felt his team were not quite at their best and while he could take some positives from their performance, he knows they have work to do.

He said: “I was disappointed in the first half an hour just with our in-possession stuff and our rest defence. I think the detail that we lacked was just the simple things. We tried to penetrate too early, too quickly and we needed to be patient.

“I think the domination and our xG and our chances had so many positive things there but I’m just disappointed because it was in our hands.

“It’s up to us to watch it back and make sure we use it as a massive lesson and move forward, because we don’t want it to be a familiar feeling where we dominate games and come away with zero points.

“I didn’t feel as though we got outdone on anything tactically. A 25-yard shot and deflection in the first 10 minutes is a difficult one to swallow.

“The lads’ endeavour and intensity was there but I just felt the detail was off and that’s something we need to look at and address.”